Under the Scorpion Sky
by opalheart12
Summary: Vernon Dursley died, leaving Petunia to take parent Dudley alone. When Harry Potter shows up on her doorstep, it is a woman changed by life who takes him in. Sirius Black never attempted to murder Peter Pettigrew, attempting to have him captured for his treachery. How different would Harry be in this world?
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: I own nothing. Hope you enjoy.**_

* * *

Vernon Dursley died of a heart attack on July 4th, 1981. His secretary found him in his office that morning after leaving him to continue working late into the night the previous evening.

Dudley Samuel Dursley was only eleven months old.

Petunia had never worked outside of home a day in her life. Now, all that would change. Vernon had taken out an impeccable insurance policy the week after they were married and as such, Petunia and Dudley were certainly comfortable. But Petunia, sensible woman that she was, knew that it was foolish to rely on that money.

The house on Privet Drive felt much too big and somehow suffocating. Everything looked too much alike. The concern her neighbors displayed was as fake as their perfect little lives were. For once in her life, she wanted anything _but_ normal.

Thus, when she moved to Manchester a month later and took up as a secretary for a furniture giant, she was far too busy to attempt normalcy. There was a routine with she and Dudley, certainly, but any semblance of normalcy died with Vernon Dursley.

She'd been able to find an affordable child care not far from her job where Dudley went during the day. In the evenings, she played with him, fed him, bathed him, anything that kept him awake and tired him out. Finally, at around 8pm, she would put him down for the night and curl up in her bed to cry.

She missed Vernon. She missed the safety and security she felt with him. Still, she could not deny the modicum of relief she felt at his absence from her life. He'd been so suffocating and so disgustingly boring at times. But he loved her and he took care of her and she loved that.

This was her life for nearly four and a half months until October 31st, 1981.

The furniture company had been swamped with orders that day and Petunia had not been able to get lunch. When she picked up Dudley from daycare, she raced to the nearest fast food restaurant and took her frustrations and hunger out on an order of chicken strips and chips. She rushed out of the car with Dudley who'd been extremely fussy for some reason she could not yet understand.

As she rushed into the little townhome on the moderately quiet Silverfield Drive, she completely missed the cat sitting on her stoop, peering at her intently. When Dudley began to wail uncontrollably, she did not hear the loud pop at the end of the street. When she finally, _finally_ got to sleep at nearly midnight, she slept deeply, completely oblivious to the vague sound of a motorbike arriving across the street.

It wasn't until the very next morning, on November 1st, that her life would truly change forever.

She was locking the door, Dudley on her hip, when she turned and nearly tripped. She looked down and saw a baby wrapped in a blanket, stirring restlessly, a fresh lightning scar on its head. Tucked in the side of the basket it was in was a folded note.

Dudley began to squirm restlessly and she decided to hurry and strap him into his car seat before returning to scoop up the basket with the baby inside. When she dropped Dudley off to daycare, she sat in the parking lot, staring intently into the backseat where the basket sat, the baby still asleep inside.

"I can't go in today." She said it to herself simply, as if it were merely fact.

When she got back home, she rushed inside and to her living room, placing the basket on the coffee table. The baby was awake now, staring at her curiously and intently as he made small gurgling noises. She was struck by his eyes and how very _familiar_ they were to her.

Petunia pulled the note from the side of the basket and opened it. The handwriting inside cause her breath to hitch. She would know it anywhere. After all, she'd written a letter to the person long, long ago. But why, after all this time, was this person writing her?

As she read the letter she felt tears sting her eyes and the breath leave her body.

 _Mrs_. _Petunia_ _Dursley_ ,

 _I_ _am_ _terribly_ _saddened_ _to_ _inform_ _you_ _that_ _on_ _31_ _October, your sister Lily and her husband James Potter were murdered in their home. Their son, Harry, was mostly unharmed save for the scar on his forehead._

 _There is no one else with whom it would be best_ _to leave Harry, and as you are his_ _aunt, it is best he be with family for his own protection_.

 _I offer you my condolences during this most terrible time. Information regarding arrangements for James and Lily will be forthcoming._

 _Respectfully_ ,

 _Albus_ _P_. _W_. _B_. _Dumbledore_

She dropped the letter, her hands shaking as she leaned forward, pulling the baby out of the basket. His eyes narrowed curiously as if he could sense the sadness and confusion radiating from her. Petunia could see now that his eyes were exact replica's of Lily's. Everything else hinted toward his father.

As she held him up in front of her, his legs kicked about experimentally as he looked around. She could see that he was bigger than she thought, probably a little over a year old. He and Dudley were practically the same age.

"Oh, Lily, what the hell did you get yourself into?"

* * *

 ** _Meanwhile_** _**in**_ **_London_** …

"Sirius, you can't-"

"That dirty bastard! He _killed_ them, Remus!" Sirius could not recall another time that he'd felt guilt pressing upon him as heavily as it did at that moment. He felt like he might never breathe again.

"He did. But _you_ are not going to be the one who serves him justice for it." Remus replied firmly, bodily blocking the doorway so that Sirius could not exit.

When Sirius stomped away in frustration and tossed an old mug at the wall, Remus silently placed anti-apparition wards around the flat. He knew Sirius like the back of his hand and knew that keeping him inside was best.

"And you believe the fucking _ministry_ will bring justice to that _traitor_ with Dumbledore pulling their strings? They'll suspect _me_ , Remus, mark my words!" Sirius felt his throat grow heavy as he choked on his next words. "They'll think _I_ betrayed them, Rem. _Me_."

The flat was dimly lit and Remus was vaguely aware that what few lights were on had begun flickering the minute Sirius threw the mug at the wall. There was a hard and tense silence in the living room as Remus watched Sirius crumple onto the sofa, a distraught and grieving mess. He felt his own heart shatter even more as he realized that the deaths of James and Lily had yet to register to him.

As a werewolf, he supposed, he was used to loss, used to people leaving his life abruptly. But deep inside of him, he knew that the deaths of Lily and James caused a fracture inside him that he doubted could be healed with anything but time. They'd been family to him. And Harry. Dear gods, _Harry_.

"You cannot go after him, Sirius. Harry needs you." Remus found strength in some part of himself and walked over to the sofa where Sirius was. He pulled him into his shoulders, letting him cry into his shirt. " _I_ need you."

Sirius sat up after a period of time. "They're really gone, aren't they?" He looked so much like a child in that moment that it shattered Remus to pieces.

"Yes, Sirius. They're gone. But _Harry_ is not. _I_ am not." Remus answered firmly.

"The Ministry will come for me, the backward fuckers." He seemed to be to be thinking out loud, his eyes wandering somewhere far behind Remus. "They'll take me away and-"

"They will do no such thing!" Remus's voice interrupted sharply, startling Sirius with its intensity. He had turned just in time to see the flash of gold in Remus' eyes begin to fade to hazel. "You were with me the whole night anyway. I will give them my memories of the evening."

For the first time in nearly twenty four hours, something vaguely resembling a smile crossed Sirius' face. "You sure you want to show them _everything_ , Rem?"

The man in question smiled back and kissed Sirius' forehead before pulling him back onto his chest. "Only if we must."


	2. Chapter 2

Ministry officials showed up the next day in the form of Kingsley Shacklebolt and Amelia Bones.

It was nearly nightfall and Sirius had spent the day going through old photo albums with pictures of he, James, Lily, Remus, and Peter. When Remus poked his head into the bedroom to tell him who was there, he noticed Sirius had burned away the portions of the pictures where Peter was present.

"You don't actually believe he's guilty, do you?" Remus asked while he waited for Sirius to get presentable.

Amelia gave him a sad smile and her eyes flickered over to Kingsley who was taking a walk about the living room. "We're only doing our jobs, Mr. Lupin."

Remus let out a mirthless chuckle as he stood and walked over to the cabinet in the corner of the room. "There is a way to prove he isn't guilty, you know." He took his wand from his pocket and tapped his skull suggestively.

"Surely you know the Ministry might not be so quick to trust the memory of someone in your...condition?" Amelia winced at the last word and cast an apologetic look in Remus' direction.

"Yes, of course." Remus snapped, rolling his eyes as Sirius came out of the bedroom. "So surely you would not be surprised that the memory I possess that would clear Sirius of any wrongdoing exists in his mind as well."

Sirius looked between the three of them, sensing tension in the air. "Remus is right. I was not the one who sold James and Lily to...Voldemort."

Kingsley examined the two of them for a moment and nodded. "Then I am certain you won't mind coming to the ministry to give this memory."

Remus and Sirius shared a look that communicated worry for one another. A look of resolve passed across Sirius' face and Remus nearly laughed as he realized he'd never seen him look so...serious.

"We'll come with you. You can compare the memory from Remus and I and you'll see the truth. I'm innocent." Sirius stated as he pulled on an old leather motorcycle jacket and fingerless gloves. Remus was close behind, pulling on a tattered old peacoat and a scarf he'd been given by Lily the previous Christmas.

At 7:49pm, a loud pop was heard in the apartment as the four of them vanished into the night.

* * *

 _Meanwhile in Manchester…_

Harry and Dudley were crying at the same time and Petunia thought she might hurl herself from the roof of her townhome. Dudley was crying because he was sleepy and Harry was crying because Petunia was a stranger to him.

Trying her hardest not to turn into a sobbing mess, she picked the two of them up and decided a bath and car ride might be best. She washed the two screeching demons together in the bathtub and gave them both baby massages in hopes that they might be a bit less fussy.

Luckily, by the time she carried them out to the car, the screaming had subsided to light sniffling. She buckled them in and started the car, resolving to drive around the city for an hour or two. It was only 8pm and if she could have the two dead to the world by 9 she might actually have a hope of a good night's rest.

She was making her way around their neighborhood for the fifth time when she looked in the rearview mirror and saw Dudley was asleep, though Harry was awake and peering at her with curious emerald eyes.

"God, you look _just_ like her." Petunia said to his reflection as tears sprung to her eyes. She could recall clear as day part of the last letter she'd gotten from Lily shortly before her wedding to James.

 _I hope you can forgive me for making you feel abandoned. I hope you can forgive me for making you feel that you were anything less than my sister. I hope one day, Petunia, that we will be so close that our children will play together at holidays and be as close as blood can make them._

She had been so resentful of Lily, of the magic she possessed. They had always been different, so much so that Petunia questioned often whether or not they were truly related. When Lily learned she was a witch, it was simply another thing that made them so different from one another.

Her resentment and jealousy of Lily turned into bitter hate once she began seeing Vernon and intensified to the point that Petunia cut off any contact with Lily prior to her marriage to James.

But now that Vernon was gone, Petunia found more and more that she regretted the hateful person she'd become. She'd had custody of Harry for nearly twenty four hours and she'd come to realize that bitter and hateful could not serve or help her anymore, not where Dudley and Harry were involved.

"Your mother and I did not have the best relationship once she went off to that...that _school_. It was all downhill from there and I didn't even know you existed. How horrible is that?" She asked Harry's unchanging face in the mirror as she came around to the neighborhood park. She parked the car and turned it off.

Harry blinked a few times, his eyes growing heavy. "Mama." He uttered, causing tears to spring to Petunia's eyes.

"No," Petunia replied, shaking her head. "I'm not her, Harry."

She saw confusion register, not for the first time, on Harry's face. He clearly missed his parents. She turned around so that she was facing him and reached a hand out to stroke his forehead. "I'm not your mother, Harry. But I'll try to be."

* * *

 _London_ _Auror_ _Office_ , _Ministry_ _of_ _Magic_ …

"They want to put you on trial, Sirius." Remus stated after a while.

Sirius was being held for questioning for James and Lily's deaths and possible connections to Voldemort. It was categorically false as anyone with half a brain knew, but fear created stupidity.

"Bloody idiots." Sirius muttered.

Remus reached across the table and held his hand tightly. "You will be fine. Trust me. I won't let them put you in Azkaban. Besides, Kingsley and Amelia already know we both have memories that show James and Lily switched Secret Keepers. They'll know the truth."

Sirius's hair hung to down to the bottom of his ears, cut short in the back. His steel grey eyes turned upward as he groaned in annoyance. He stood, his hand falling away from Remus' as he paced around the disgustingly small room.

"And what about Peter?" he asked, venom dripping from his voice. "What about Harry?"

Remus turned in the chair, half facing the two-way window and half facing Sirius. He knew that someone had to be watching them. Someone always was. "I'm sure Harry is fine, Sirius. We can focus on getting him back later but you are what is important right now and-"

"NO!" Sirius' voice was positively thunderous as he punched a wall, his jaw clenching as waves of pain radiated through his arm. "Harry needs to be safe. He needs to be with me. I'm his fucking _godfather_."

A long sigh escaped Remus' mouth as he stood and walked over to Sirius who was now leaning against the wall. He stood in front of him for awhile until grey eyes met hazel.

"Sirius, you are going to be out of here by morning. I swear it. And when you're out, we are going to get drunk off our asses and cry until our throats hurt and the next morning-"

"But, we need to-"

"And the next morning, we will wake up bright and early and find Harry. Until then, there's nothing we can do. For all his faults, I am, at least, certain Dumbledore would not have brought him anywhere dangerous."

Remus was interrupted by a loud knock on the window and the door swinging open. In the doorway stood a rather severe looking man that neither of them had ever seen. He had platinum blonde hair and electric blue eyes. His perfectly tailored suit clung to his body and Sirius fought the urge to laugh at such an impractical choice of clothing for working in the DMLE.

"Mr. Black, I must ask that you come with me immediately." His voice, raspy and emotionless, caused a spike of nervousness in Sirius.

Remus cast a reassuring glance toward him and Sirius returned a small smile. "I'll be right behind you." He whispered.

Soon, the three of them were walking down a long hallway that led to the courtrooms in the Ministry. The man escorting them said nothing until they arrived at courtroom 12.

"In you go." His gravelly voice instructed as he held the door open for them. The two walked inside and saw that a hastily assembled court was waiting for them.

Ahead, Minister of Magic Millicent Bagnold, old crone that she was, sat in the center stand, donning her full regalia. Behind her sat representatives of various departments in the ministry in similar robes. On the right side of the room sat a few individuals neither of them had expected to see.

Sirius' cousin Andromeda sat in the row closest to the floor, her husband Ted Tonks next to her. On the row above them was Professor Minerva McGonagall and to her right was Albus Dumbledore. The two of them fought the urge to narrow their eyes at the man. Alastor Moody was off to the side of the row closest to the bottom, peering intently at Sirius and Remus alike.

"We are ready to begin." Minister Bagnold announced, her voice firm and unwavering, her expression blank as she gazed down over Sirius.

Remus rushed forward to talk to Sirius. "You will be fine, Sirius. You are innocent."

He caught Sirius nod nearly imperceptibly before he moved to the side.

"As many of you well know, domestic terrorist Lord Voldemort has disappeared after murdering James and Lily Potter and harming their one year old son. His whereabouts are as yet unknown, however, the Ministry has learned that there was only one person who was aware of the Potters' location: Sirius Orion Black." Minister Bagnold's voice portrayed no sort of emotion to indicate if she had any feeling about the events taking place.

Remus could not help holding his breath as Sirius' memory of switching Secret Keepers at the urging of James and Lily played for all in the courtroom to see. There was an audible gasp when the new Secret Keeper was revealed to be Peter Pettigrew.

"I'm innocent." Sirius said into a room so silent you could hear a pin drop. However, rather than sounding smug or triumphant, he sounded completely broken.

Remus had known him long enough to know that beneath that brokenness lay an anger like a simmering volcano. He did his best to convey love and calm toward Sirius even though they were not physically close to one another.

Nearly forty-five minutes later, Remus was unlocking the door to the flat he and Sirius shared. He had been cleared of any wrongdoing and, as he was Harry Potter's godfather, had been given permission to adopt the boy if he could be found. But that meant talking to the manipulative old bastard known as Albus Dumbledore, whom they both knew would sooner give his wand than tell the two of them where Harry was.

"We'll need to find him ourselves." Remus thought to himself as he went to the kitchen to put tea on the boil.

Sirius was not far behind, tough he appeared to be lost in his own head. He took a seat at the chair nearest the window and leaned his head against the glass. Remus had not bothered to turn on the lights, meaning that the kitchen was filled only with the muted glow of the half-moon.

A few moments later, Remus sat a mug of steaming chamomile tea in front of Sirius and came around to hug the man from behind. Sirius reached up to touch Remus' arms, snug around his neck.

"That snakey bastard ruined everything, didn't he?" he asked, his voice a small shadow of its typical nature.

"No," Remus replied as he rested a tired face in Sirius' neck. "Not everything."


End file.
